How to Nurture a Healthy Body Image in Girls

Carol Weston, Author, Girltalk Carol Weston has been writing an advice column for teenage girls for more than a decade, and one of the most common issues she tackles is body image. Some girls wish their breasts were bigger, some smaller. Some girls are very heavy but don’t know how to lose weight. And many have unrealistic ideas of what a girl can and should look like, based on the imagery they see in magazines and on television. Tips for Parents: * Tell your teenager she looks good if she does. If she is seriously overweight, don’t pretend she isn’t. Help her lose some weight by having the right foods in the house, and avoiding the wrong ones. * Keep junk food out of the house. * Don’t complain constantly about your own weight or talk about your own compulsive eating habits. * Remind her that no one is perfect, and that however she was meant to be is just fine. * Help your kids to be as fit as possible, and nurture a positive attitude about their bodies by reminding them that no one really looks the way models do. If you reinforce the idea that however your child was naturally programmed to be is just fine, and you help her be fit and healthy, you can create a positive, healthy body image.